Finally got my bike from the Honda shop mechanic and did some riding today.
The problem I now have is that I think the mechanic put my fuel lines on the petcock wrong.
When I set the petcock to 'ON' I can start up the bike with full choke. Once it's warm I can back off the choke and the bike would idle for a while. Then it would die. If I give it some gas with choke on or off, the bike would sputter and die like it's flooded. This happened to me on the ride back from the Honda dealer , the bike just lost power and sputtered when I gave it gas. I thought I was out of gas first and check but it was half full. I waited for about 20 minutes, started her up again and rode home gingerly.
But today when I set the petcock to 'PRIME', the bike started up with minimal choke and idle without choke. I then went for a ride with the petcock on 'PRIME' and the bike ran fine.
Do you guys think the lines are crossed? What are the symptoms of riding with 'PRIME' on instead of 'ON' on?
i bought my bike used and run it on prime all the time...if i put it on ON then the bike would die.
since it runs normally on prime i dont bother putting the lines where they belong.
So are you saying that your lines are crossed too? I want to know what the symptoms are if your run the bike on 'PRIME' instead of 'ON' which I believe is what you are suppose to do.
On a GS500 in good kit, you can ride on either PRI or ON. For ON to work, you must have no vacuum leaks. So there are some reasons why ON may not work but PRI does.
First thing to do is to eliminate gas: what looks like 1/2 tank may not be. Fill it up.
Then, if it works on PRI but not on ON, check for vacuum leaks (search this forum for "vacuum leak"). Also, check that the hoses from the tank to the petcock are not pinched between the tank and frame.
Swapped hoses doesn't really make sense.
So what are the advantages of riding with the petcock on 'ON' compare to 'PRIME'?
OK, took GS to a Honda mechanic, and now it sorta runs but kills all the time. Basic problem: he replaced your Suzuki with a Honda! :nana:
Basic difference:
ON takes gas from high-up in the tank. It runs out of gas, even while you have some left. Also, it only works when there is good vacuum, such as when the engine is running.
REServe takes gas from down low in the tank. It also only works when there is good vacuum.
PRIme takes gas from down low in the tank, and works all the time (even when the engine is not running!)
If you ride with the petcock "ON", then the bike will seem to run out of fuel, while it still has a gallon left in the bottom of the tank. This is good. Then you are reminded that you need more gas.
But when you ran the bike out of gas with the petcock set to "ON", you emptied the carburetor bowls. The bike will not start without some gas in the carburetor. And the "ON" and "REServe" petcock settings will not give the carburetor any more gas, because the engine is not running. So you need to switch the petcock to "PRIme" for a few seconds. PRIme works even when the engine is not running, so the carburetors are filled with fuel. Then, you can switch the petcock back to RES and ride to the filling station for more gas.
You could ride around all the time using PRIme, but (a) you might not notice when you are low on fuel, and (b) if the carburetor malfunctions, then it will draw gas even when the bike is parked. This can empty the gas onto the floor, or even get gasoline into the oil (which is bad). So if you choose to ride around on PRIme, then you should probably set the petcock to ON when you park the bike.
Thanks Rema. That's what I wanted to hear. I will fill her up tomorrow and then check for leaks. Thanks. I love this site. :kiss:
Once again GSTWIN has come thru with a solution. I filled her up today and she runs like lightning on 'ON' and 'PRIME'. Thanks again Rema.
:P
Good basic lesson. Always Always keep it simple, check the obvious first. You will be amazed at how many problems on this forum have initially been misdiagnosed as something more complex than they really are.